ACCORDING TO THE
latest
Resources
and Energy Quarterly
from the Bureau
of Resources and Energy Economics
(BREE), commodity export earnings have
increased by 12 per cent in the past 12
months to reach a record $195 billion.
Australia is now exporting more than
two-and-a-half times the mineral and
energy commodities than it was 10 years
ago. This is just getting started, however,
with an influx of LNG capacity set to
increase annual natural gas export value
from $16.4bn to $57.1bn by 2019.
“Australia is moving decisively from the
investment phase of the mining boom to
the production phase,” says BREE deputy
executive director Wayne Calder.
“We will continue to see expansions
in capacity from the Australian resources
and energy sectors with increasing
supply of iron ore and coal as well as
the commencement of major new LNG
EXPORT EARNINGS SURGE
with resource production
The national economic benefits of the resource industry’s transition into a long-term
production phase are beginning to reflect in Australian commodity export earnings data.
projects across Australia.
“First LNG shipments from the east
coast are expected to start by the end of
2014, rapidly ramping up over the period
to 2019 to make Australia the world’s
largest LNG producer.”
Over the next 12 months, resource and
energy exports may drop by 1.4 per cent in
line with softer commodity prices resulting
from oversupply in key markets, but a
rebound is also expected, with totals likely
to reach $274bn in the next five years.
The BREE report also pay homage to
the past contributions of the resource
industry to the Australian community.
The report notes the past decade’s
growth in exports and investment has
‘supported employment, regional
development and increased revenues for
both federal and state governments’.
It outlines how the Australian mining
industry’s gross value added (GVA) to the
national economy increased by $72bn
since 2003-04; with its share of GDP up
from 7.8 per cent to 11 per cent in the
same period.
Calder adds that ‘the prospects for
the resources and energy industry
remain positive’.
“Continued economic growth in
highly populated emerging economies
will sustain increased demand for both
resources and energy commodities into
the future,” he says.
RP
Australia is now exporting
more than two-and-a-half
times the mineral and
energy commodities than
it was 10 years ago.
Port Hedland, WA
ECONOMY & FINANCE
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